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 Cut Hundreds in Hidden Costs
From Your House Payments In Two Easy Steps
Your home value has tanked but your house payments are higher than
ever? Sound familiar? If you are having trouble bridging the gap
between what your home is worth and what you are paying each month
there are some easy steps you can take to cut the hidden costs and
substantially reduce your house payments - Without talking to
your lender.
For most
homeowners, monthly house payments are more than just the mortgage. In
fact, the bulk of what you pay each month to live in your home goes to
insurance,
property taxes and
interest. The first two are
priced by your home’s value which has gone down by an average 25
percent nationwide. If you live in one of the hardest hit areas your home's values
have plummeted by as much as 42%. So why hasn't your house payment
fallen too? Because these costs are buried inside your mortgage
payment and the people you pay aren’t going to tell you that you
are paying more than you should. Unless you ask!
Hidden Cost
Number One When you bought
your home one of the many pages of documents your lender required you
to sign was for insurance. If you’re like most homeowners, you
probably never gave it another thought unless you needed to file a
claim. It was something you wanted anyway and you trusted the bank to
choose the right carrier. But insurance is a large and hidden part of the house
payment you’re now struggling to pay. In today’s economy you may be
paying 40% more than you should for insurance your lender required.
An updated policy based on the current value of your home could shave
hundreds of dollars off your monthly house payment. If you haven’t
compared your homeowner’s policy since the housing decline, you’re in
for a pleasant surprise.
Cutting this hidden cost is easy - Just
compare home insurance quotes.Hidden Cost
Number Two
Your home’s
value soared during the housing boom and right along with it the taxes
you pay to municipal and county entities went through the roof. Now
that the bubble has burst you may still be paying taxes on what your
home was worth at the pinnacle of the housing boom. Normally,
appraisals from county assessors are quite accurate however they are
often out of step with the latest data on neighborhood home values. In
other words in today’s economy, you are being taxed on value that
no longer exists. You can remedy this by filing a
protest with the appraisal review board.
Protesting isn’t as dramatic
as it sounds. It involves going before a board comprised of fellow
property owners. It isn’t difficult, but you should be prepared to
show why you believe your home is over valued. If you have taken the
first step to cutting hidden costs in this article, you already have multiple independent appraisals from local
insurance agents to show the board.
It’s important
also to determine if you are taking all the exemptions to which you are
entitled. The most common exemption and one that is often missed is
the homestead exemption but you may also qualify for handicapped, over
65, disabled veteran or a myriad of other exceptions provided by your
state’s legislators. You can call your local tax appraisal
district to inquire about exemptions that will lower your tax burden.
Texas homeowner’s will find phone numbers for the Central Appraisal
District listed for your county at
www.TXDILAR.com .
It’s hard to believe but
many homeowners pay
just pennies per year in property taxes and some with special
exemptions pay nothing at all!. How much you save is determined by
your own circumstances. If this sounds more complex than you want to
deal with on your own, there are lawyers who specialize in real estate
tax who can help you slash your tax – some will take these cases on a
contingency basis and charge only a percentage of what you save. You
can
submit your case anonymously
online in about two minutes and get
multiple proposals from local lawyers within hours. Then you can
decide if you want to accept one of the proposals or do it yourself.
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